Liberia is the capital of the province of Guanacaste. It takes around four hours to get to Liberia if you drive from San Jose City. Overall this city can still be considered a rural town, although over the past decade it has been a witness to a lot of hotel development, mostly due to the popularity that the Liberia Airport has been getting.  Currently Liberia airport is the second largest in Costa Rica, receiving a good amount of international flights, from airlines such as American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Taca Airlines, among many others. The advantage of booking a flight to Liberia Costa Rica (LIR), instead of Juan Santamaria in Alajuela (SJO), is that you can book a hotel closer to the astounding Guanacaste beaches and to a lot of national parks and natural reserves.

 

The city of Liberia is one of the biggest towns on the northern part of Costa Rica. This city is mostly used as a gateway  to the Golfo de Papagayo and to its many impressive beaches. From Liberia you will also be at a closest distance to the natural destinations of Monteverde Cloud Forest, Santa Elena Reserve, Miravalles Volcano, Tenorio Volcanoes, Palo Verde National Park, Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Santa Rosa National Park, Guanacaste National Park, and Arenal Volcano.

 

Liberia city is known by the locals as the White City. This name comes as an allusion to the great amount of old colonial houses still standing that were built with a type of white clay known as bahareque, which is found in that area. The weather at Liberia Costa Rica is hot and dry from the months of November to May, with average temperatures of 81 F. The rest of the year the weather is humid and the rainiest months are September and October. Twice a year Liberia, Costa Rica has two big celebrations that involve parades, horse shows, cattle auctions, and bull rodeos. These celebrations are the Civic Festivals which are held on the last week of February and the first week of March and the Annexation of the Nicoya Party which is held every July the 25th.

 

If you decide to book a hotel at Liberia for the day you arrive to Costa Rica make sure to arrange hotel reservations with anticipation if the date coincides with any of the major local celebrations mentioned before.